AT least three big farmer-irrigators associations in Bohol are crying for help by passing their respective resolutions, requesting acting Gov. Dionisio Victor A. Balite to continue cloud seeding operations for this month as cropping season.
This is bared by Provincial Board Member Atty. Jamie A. Villamor after she received the three separate resolutions enacted by the Federation of Talibon SRIS Irrigators Association, Inc. (FETASIA), BAY-CAPA FIA, Inc., and Malinao Dam Irrigators Association (MDIA).
The Resolutions cited the true situations in their respective turfs that inflow of the irrigation dams “is not enough to supply the whole services areas if there will be no occurrence of heavy rainfall.”
FETASIA has a total of 925 hectares of rice farm service area; Bayongan-Capayas Farmer-Irrigators Assoc. Inc. (BAY-CAPA-FIA) has (in Bayongan dam, San Miguel), 3,664 hectares; Capayas Dam in Ubay town, 1,030 hectares; and Malinao dam, 4,283 hectares. Service area.
The aforesaid farmer-irrigators associations (FIA) said that their farms are engaged farm contract with the assistance of the provincial government and supported by Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE and Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
FETASIA’s Resolution No. 05, series of 2024 is signed by its president Melchor E. Bunado and secretary Phil-Am Puricallam.
BAY-CAPA FIA’s Resolution is signed by its president Edita T. Lim and secretary Teresita Alingig and Malinao Dam Irri’s resolution passed on June 18, 2o24 by its president Virgilio Margatinez and secretary Marciana Balaba.
Meanwhile, Panglao-based PAGASA said that the rain poured in past days still below normal or abnormal because it did not come up with a desired 155mm of rain since it only produce 30.6mm during the (June1-20) 20-day period.
So there’s a gap of about 70% of rain insufficiency, it said. Its recent data show that even if it rains for a normal of 5.2mm everyday and multiplied this in 20 days (referring to June 1-20), it should have been about 104mm of rain.
Also, a fact that cloud seeding is needed because the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said that there are only about 373 hectares that are into land preparations for planting this month (5%) out of 6,900 hectares that rely on communal irrigation systems (CIS) fed by rain.
CIS is smaller than the irrigation systems like the Talibon, Bayongan and Malinao dams. (rvo)
